No-Fail Gluten-Free Dutch Apple Pie (With Easy Homemade Pie Dough!)
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One of my earliest memories from the holidays with my family was that at Thanksgiving and Christmas, I didn’t really eat dessert because it was always pie. And believe it or not, I’m actually NOT a big pie fan.
HOWEVER, I’m a HUGE fan of this specific Dutch Apple Pie recipe. It’s the perfect mix of buttery, flaky homemade pie dough, sweet cinnamon-spiced apples, and a crumbly, golden topping that makes everyone think, “Did you really make this?” Hell yes you did!
Here’s the best part: This recipe is no-fail. Seriously. If you’ve ever been nervous about gluten-free baking—especially pie dough—this is the recipe that’s going to change everything. It’s easy to follow, doesn’t require any fancy tricks, and comes out perfect every single time. And the homemade pie crust? Flaky, buttery, and tastes soooo good!
This is the pie that I make Every. Single. Thanksgiving and Christmas and it’s the pie that has turned Every. Single “I don’t like Apple Pie” into “omg this is AMAZING!” (Just like me!)
So whether you’re baking for a holiday, or a family dinner, this Dutch apple pie is your go-to.
In this post, I will cover:
How to make simple, no-fail gluten-free pie dough that is buttery and flaky perfection
Quick and Easy pie filling and the best apples to use
How to make a quick crumble
And finally - how to put it all together to make the perfect Gluten-Free Dutch Apple Pie!
Okay, let’s do this!
No-Fail Gluten-Free Dutch Apple Pie
Let’s Make Some Easy Pie Dough!
First, let’s make your pie dough! Baking with pie dough - especially pie dough - can be daunting. I remember getting frustrated and throwing out MANY pie dough recipes before finding this one. And all you need is butter, flour, a little water, and a food processor! Yup, you read that right. I don’t use a mixer for this recipe. I found that the dough just got stuck to the paddle, whereas with the food processor, it quickly blends everything together!
Cut your butter into small chunks (I usually cut into quarters) and place into a bowl
Place the bowl into the freezer KEY for getting flaky, buttery dough
3. Combine the flour, salt, frozen butter, and sugar into your food processor.
4. Turn on the processor to blend.
5. Slowly add in ice water and mix until dough forms. (it will bunch around the blades; that’s okay!)
6. Remove dough from the processor onto a lightly floured surface.
7. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch thickness
8. Wrap dough in saran wrap and place into the refrigerator until ready to use
Once you’re ready to actually bake your pie, you’re going to take it out of the saran wrap and gently press the dough into your pie dish. If your dough breaks - DON’T panic! This happens to me almost every single time. That’s what I love about this pie dough. You can literally manipulate it to fit the dish by breaking off pieces and gently molding it together (think Play-Doh), and your pie will still come out amazing! Say goodbye to oh-so-fragile pie dough!
And with this dough, there’s no need to par-bake (pre-bake) your dough to ensure you won’t have a saggy bottom.
Pie Filling Time!
Okay, you’re dough is ready to go, now let’s make the pie filling. The key to making this pie sooo delicious is choosing the right apples! For years, I would try to make apple pie and would be unhappy with the test, but I couldn’t figure out what was missing.
The KEY is making sure you get SWEET apples! I know that seems like a “duh” thought, but soo many recipes I found would call for Granny Smith apples or Red Delicious apples, and they are just not where it’s at.
To make sure this pie is the best people have tried, you need to get either Honey Crisp OR Fuji. I’ve made this pie with both, and both are delicious. However, if I had to choose, I would say get a bag of Honey Crisp apples. You just can’t go wrong with them!
Peel your apples and cut into thin slices.
(I usually use my apple cutter to get wedges and then slice the wedges into thin strips.)
Place apples into a bowl and mix with lemon juice, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
The Perfect Crumble
Now that you have your pie crust made and your apples sugared up, it’s time to make your crumble. I know people have you take “softened” butter to make a crumble, but I honestly just got frustrated doing that.
So, instead, I melt my butter completely and then mix everything. It still comes together as a yummy crumble, but without the extra work that I feel happens when you do it the other way.
Mix your brown sugar, granulated sugar, melted butter, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a bowl
That’s it! It is so simple and makes the most amazing topping for your pie!
Alright, we’ve made all of the parts of this pie let’s dive into the nitty-gritty of this recipe! Below, you’ll find the step-by-step instructions to make my ‘No Fail Gluten Free Dutch Apple Pie’!!
Full Recipe:
Pie Dough:
1 cup + 6 tablespoons (2 sticks plus 6 tablespoons) COLD salted butter
3 cups gluten-free cup-for-cup flour (I love this one)
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 teaspoons Granulated sugar
½ cup ICY COLD water
Pie Filling:
5 1/2 cups peeled, cored, and sliced honey crisp OR Fuji apples
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar packed
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Easy Crumble:
3/4 cup gluten-free flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar packed
1/3 cup butter, melted
Pie Crust Directions: (Take Dough out of the Refrigerator before you start this!)
Cut the butter into ½-inch cubes. Place in the freezer
In a food processor, add flour, salt, and sugar
Slowly add in ice cold water and combine until a dough forms
Place on a lightly floured countertop and roll out the dough
Pie Filling & Crumble Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Roll pie dough out to about 1/2 an inch thickness
Fit the pie crust into the pie plate. Remember, don’t panic if it breaks! Simply mold the dough back together (like you would Play-Doh), working as quickly as you can so you don’t make the butter start to melt.
In a large bowl, mix sliced apples, lemon juice, both sugars, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Fill the pie crust with the mixture.
To Make Crumble: In a medium bowl, with a fork, mix flour, both sugars and butter, until coarsely crumbled. Sprinkle evenly over apples.
Bake at 375°F for 50 minutes, rotating the pie halfway through baking time. (If your crust starts to overly brown, you can create a little “crown” using aluminum and place it on the crust only
Remove from the oven and let the pie cool for around 20 minutes before serving. Store leftovers in the refrigerator, covering the pie with plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
The Verdict:
